Adjustable clamping device



Jan. 16, 1962 F. J. NDHERNY ETAL 3,017,175

ADJUSTABLE CLAMPING DEVICE Filed March 9, 1959 if 'I v methods have proven too desirable.

United States Patent 3,017,175 Patented Jan. 16, 1962 .ice

3,017,175 ADJUSTABLE CLAMPING DEVICE Frank J. Nadherny and Milton C. Prymek, Berwyn, Ill., assignors to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Mar. 9, 1959, Ser. No. 798,084 4 Claims. (Cl. 269-130) This invention relates to an adjustable clamping device, and more particularly to a support and an attaching clamp therefor to rigidly secure pivotally suspended frames.

Where frames or other similar members are pivotally suspended from a mono-rail conveyor or the like so that work can be performed thereon, it is often necessary to hold the frame from swaying at several different stations along the path of the conveyor. In the past this was done by holding the frames manually or by bolting the frames to supports extending from the oor, but neither of these A manually held frame has a tendency to move about when worked on and requires additional man hours which could be more economically used for other purposes. By bolting the frames' to members extending from the oor to hold the frames from swaying there is a decided tripping hazard in the work area for the person working on the frames. It is therefore extremely important to be able to provide a structure which can be quickly attached and detached to a suspended frame entirely from the outside thereof with a high degree of dependability and versatility for holding the frame to prevent swaying thereof when it is being worked on.

It is the primary object of this invention to provide an adjustable clamping vdevice of simple and economical construction for facilitating rigid support of a pivotally suspended frame.

Another object of this invention resides in an adjustable clamping device for holding pivotally suspended frames which can be rapidly attached to and detached from the frame.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an adjustable clamping device for holding pivotally suspended frames which can be attached to the frames when only the outer surface of the frame is accessible.

With these and other objects in view, the present invention contemplates an adjustable clamping device for a pivotally suspended frame wherein a slotted plate is provided which is slidably secured to the suspended frame near the bottom thereof. A clamp is applied to the plate v and the frame to rigidly secure the plate to the frame from outside the frame with the plate in engagement With the floor to prevent movement of the frame.

Other objects,.advantages and novel aspects of the invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. l is a perspective view of a frame pivotally suspended from a vconveyor showing the adjustable clamping device mounted to the frame and in engagement with the oor;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective View of a portion of vthe pivotally suspended frame showing the plate and securing members therefor;

FIG. 3 is a. fragmentary enlarged sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1 showing the device rigidly clamped to the frame; j

FIG. 4 is a detailed view of the clamp used for rigidly securing the plate to the frame;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4 showing the configuration of that portion of the clamp which is positioned in the slots of the plate and the frame; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a portion of a frame merely having an aperture in the side thereof to which the device can be applied.

Referring to the drawings there is illustrated a frame generally designated by the numeral 14 which is suspended from an overhead conveyor 15 (FIG. l) over the oor 16. A plate 17 having a simple slot 18 and a slot 19, herein referred to as a key hole slot by virtue of an enlarged end portion 20 forming a part thereof, is placed on the side of frame 14. The plate 17 also has two support members 21 with rubber pads 22 or the like axed thereto. An eye-bolt 25 having a fiange 26 (FIGS. 2 and 3) is inserted through the 'slot 18 of lthe plate 17 and threaded into a threaded opening 27 of an outside wall 28 of the frame 14 (FIG. 2). A clamp member [generally designated by the numeral 30 (FIGS. 2, 3 and 4) has a handle or wing nut 31 threadably mounted on a threaded end portion 32 of a shaft 3-3. The shaft 33 has an eccentric flange 34 on the end thereof (FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 5) which is insertable in the enlarged portion 20 of the key hole slot 19 in the plate 17 and a similar enlarged portion 41 of a key hole slot 42 (FIG. 2) in the outside wall 2.8 of the frame 14.

The shaft 33 has attened sides 50 thereon to facilitate sliding the shaft 33 in the narrow portion of the key hole slots 19 and 42 of the plate 17 and the frame 14, respectively, and to prevent rotation of the shaft 33 in the narrow portion of the key hole slots 19 and 42. When the shaft 33 is moved into the narrow portions of the key hole slots 19 and 42 the handle 31 can be rotated on the threaded portion 32 of the shaft 33 to bring a surface 43 of the handle 31 toward the eccentric 34 to rigidly clamp the plate 17 to the outside wall l28 of the frame 14. v

It should be clear that the plate 17 could be secured to a frame 14 which does not have the slot 42 but, instead merely has the threaded aperture 27, by using only the eye-bolt 25 in the slot 18 and the threaded aperture 27. Further, it should be understood that the plate 17 can be secured to the frame 14 by using only the clamp 30 on a frame 14 as shown in FIG. 6 having only an opening 45 instead of the key hole slot 42 to admit .the eccentric 34. In this instance the at sides 50 of the shaft 33 are held by the narrow portion of the` slot 19 of the plate 17 with the eccentric 34 out of alignment with the aperture 45 in the frame 14 shown in FIG. 6 when the handle 31 is tightened on the shaft 33.

When the adjustable clamping devices are used onV the frame 14, to hold the frame 14 against movement in the suspended position, two of the devices are applied in identical fashion to opposite sides of the frame 14 (FIG. l). The application of only one stop will be described for convenience and clarity of description of the applicants novel clamping device.

To apply the device to the frame 14 as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 an eye-bolt 25 is inserted through the simple slot 18 of the plate 17 and threaded into the threaded opening 27 in the outside wall 28 of the frame 14. The plate 17 is then moved slidably along the suspended frame 14 until the enlarged portions 20 and 41 of the key hole slots 19 and 42 are in alignment.

With the slots 19 and 42 thus aligned the clamp 30 is applied to the plate 17 and the frame 14 by inserting lthe eccentric 34 on the shaft 33 of the clamp 30 through moved downwardly until the rubber pads 22 of the support members 21 rest on the iloor. Thereupon the handle 31 is rotated on the threaded portion 32 of the shaft 33 to bring the eccentric 34 and the surface 43 of the handleV 31 together to clamp the plate 17 securely to the outside Wall 28 of the frame 14 (FIG. 3). The eye-bolt 25 will likewise be tightened.

In the event that it is desired to apply the device to a frame 14 (FIG. 6i) which has only the aperture 45 to receive the eccentric 34, the eccentric 34 of the shaft 33 is inserted through the enlarged portion 20 of the slot 19 of the plate 17 with the rubber pads 22 of the support members 21 resting on the floor 16- and with the plate 17 spaced from the frame 14. The clamp 39 is then moved downward in the slot 19 of the plate 17 to align the eccentric 34 of the shaft 33` with the aperture 45 in the frame 14 (FIG. 6). The eccentric 34 is then inserted through the aperture 45 in the frame and moved down `slightly to allow the outer portion of the eccentric 34 to catch on the edge of the opening 45 from the inside of the outside wall of the frame 14 (FIG. 6) as the handle 31 is subsequently tightened against the plate.

It is to be understood that the above-described arrangements are simply illustrative of the application of the principles of this invention. Numerous other arrangements may be readily devised by those skilled in the art which will embody the principles of the invention and fall within the spirit and scope thereof.

What is claimed is:

l. A device forpreventing movement of a pivotally suspended frame relative to a floor, which comprises an upstanding member having an aperture formed therethrough, means on said upstanding member for engaging the floor, and a clamping assembly for connecting said upstanding member to the frame, said clamping assembly including a rod having a flange adjacent one end thereof and a movable clamping member adjacent its other end, said ange being insertable through the aperture in said upstanding member and an aperture in the frame, said rod being of such dimensions as to be movable transversely within the apertures whereby said flange may be positioned in axial bearing engagement with the frame, the limits of the aperture in said upstanding member being such as to permit movement of said upstanding member relative lto said rod when said flange is in axial bearing engagement with the frame, whereby said means for engaging the floor may be positioned in engagement therewith to prevent movement of the frame relative thereto, and said clamping member being movable into engagement with said upstanding member adjacent the aperture therein to clamp said upstanding member to the frame with said floor engaging means in its oor engaging position.

2. A device for preventing movement of a pivotally suspended frame relative to a oor, which comprises an upstanding member having a slot formed therethrough which has a relatively enlarged portion and a relatively narrow portion, means on said upstanding member for engaging the oor, and a clamping assembly for connecting said upstanding member to the frame, said clamping assembly including a rod having a flange and flat parallel side surfaces adjacent one end thereof and a member threaded thereon adjacent its other end, said flange being insertable through the relatively enlarged portion of the slot in said upstanding member and through a relatively enlarged portion of a slot in the frame, said rod being of such dimension between the at side surfaces thereof as to be movable transversely into the relatively narrow portion of the slot in said upstanding member and into a relatively narrow portion of the slot in the frame with `the side surfaces preventing rotation of said rod, said flange thus being positionable in axial bearing engagement with the frame, the limits of the slot in said upstanding member being such as to permit movement of said upstanding member relative to said rod when said flange is in axial bearing engagement with the frame, whereby said means for engaging the floor may be positioned in engagement therewith to prevent movement of the frame relative thereto, and said threaded member being rotatable into engagement with said upstanding member adjacent the slot therein to clamp said upstanding member to the frame with said floor engaging means in its floor engaging position.

3. A device for preventing movement of a pivotally suspended frame relative to the floor, as recited in claim 2, wherein said ange includes a portion which is eccentric relative to the longitudinal axis of said rod and which projects in a direction substantially parallel to the flat side surfaces of said rod.

4. A device for preventing movement of a pivotally suspended frame relative to a oor, which comprises an upstanding member including means for engaging the floor, said upstanding member having a pair of substantially parallel slots formed therethrough with one of the slots being a keyhole slot having a relatively enlarged portion and a relatively narrow portion, a first clamping member insertable through the other of the slots and adapted to be threaded into a threaded aperture in the frame for slidably mounting said upstanding member on the frame, a rod having a ange adjacent one end thereof and a movable second clamping member adjacent its other end, said flange being insertable through the relatively enlarged portion of the keyhole slot in said upstanding member and through a relatively enlarged portion of a keyhole slot in the frame, said rod being of such dimensions as to be movable transversely into the relatively narrow portion of the keyhole slot in said upstanding member and into a relatively narrow portion of the keyhole slot in the frame, to permit positioning of said flange in axial bearing engagement with the frame, the limits of the slots in said upstanding member being such as to permit movement of said upstanding member when said flange is in axial bearing engagement with the frame whereby said means for engaging the oor may be positioned in engagement therewith to prevent movement of the frame relative thereto, and said iirst and second clamping members being movable into engagement with said upstanding member adjacent their respective slots therein to clamp said upstanding member to the frame with said oor engaging means in its oor engaging position.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,932,302 l Browne Oct. 24, 1933 2,559,210 Bradley July 3, 1951 2,599,010 Pernitz June 3, 1952 2,793,425 Koban May 28, 1957 lhar. 

